I have long admired John McCain. I am thrilled that he has come back so strongly from the brink and that he is very likely to be the Republican nominee. I like Mike Huckabee as well but all along I have been rooting for McCain. The disdain, scorn, and tantrums of some in the Republican party about this outcome — including, apparently, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family — just leaves me bewildered. Am I missing something earthshakingly bad about McCain that these naysayers know? I really doubt it.

I am sure that John McCain is no saint. I have an inherent distrust of all politicians. But more than anyone else in my lifetime, I have come to appreciate McCain’s stubborn passion for taking a stand on various issues regardless of whether it is popular or not. To me he is the very antithesis of say, Hillary or Bill Clinton, who will say and do whatever it takes to get what they want. I think it would be wonderful to have a woman become president of this country. But not if that woman is Hillary Clinton.

The prospect of an African American becoming president is similarly wonderful, and Barack Obama has a lot going for him. But I cannot support his stand on many critical issues (including the war in Iraq — much as that has been mismanaged and started upon extremely shaky grounds) and I will not cast my vote for him. I think McCain will be my choice.